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Eric Ross’ dream of being a band’s frontman has evolved along with his musical tastes.

The 20-year-old West Scranton native played drums in his elementary school band but discovered heavier music around age 12 or 13, he said. Then, he picked up a guitar, and with only a couple of formal lessons under his belt, became a mostly self-taught musician who now leads the metal, deathcore band Without a Martyr.

Citing bands like Slipknot and Chelsea Grin, Mr. Ross explained his love for dark metal comes from the emotion that can be discovered beneath the surface of the assailing vocals and sound.

“I like the raw aggression of it, the crunchiness of the guitar,” Mr. Ross said. “How it’s in your face. I got a craving for more and more harder and heavier.”

His own group, which also consists of Rod Harper on bass, Mike White on lead guitar and Phil Luongo on drums, plays mostly originals, with a few covers thrown in from time to time. Mr. Luongo’s dad plays in a band, too, and allowed the fledgling group to practice in his basement, where it worked out all the kinks before taking its music out of the house.

“We spent quite a lot of time (down there),” Mr. Ross said. “We take a lot of time to try to figure out what we’re good at.

“The first few things we produced were pretty rough, but as we grew as musicians, we found our strengths and weaknesses.”

Without a Martyr played most of its first shows at the former all-ages New Visions Studio & Gallery on Vine Street downtown, since most of the members are under 21. From there, the band got a couple gigs at Crocodile Rock Cafe in Allentown and Reverb in Reading, which helped expand its fan base.

“A lot of people stuck with us, and we see results from that,” he said. “We get a lot of good, positive feedback from our live sets. They’re impressed with how much we try to get our fans involved.

“We try to get as much crowd interaction as possible,” he continued. “I get people bouncing up and down so no person’s feet is on the ground. I put my guitar on the ground and make everyone get down on their knees and jump up for one of our breakdowns. I try to get a circle pit going.”

Sonically, the band is much more controlled when it comes to creating songs that resonate with listeners. Mr. Ross writes most of the lyrics and vocal layerings, while Mr. White works on guitar formatting, and Mr. Luongo and Mr. Harper focus on the rhythym section. Each song structure is unique, Mr. Ross added.

“Usually there’s a different theme for every song, such as seeing loved ones struggling with drugs or making wrong turns in life,” Mr. Ross explained. “One song called ‘Mechanical’ is about people who live their life by following trends.

“I pretty much go by whatever strong emotion I have, whether I’m angry or depressed or if I’m happy, peppy,” he said. “Whatever my emotional roller coaster is set on is what happens when my pen hits the paper. We have a song for almost every emotion.”

This personal touch helps the band reach fans, while still others are attracted to the musicianship put on display.

“We have a very (different) aura with our music,” Mr. Ross said. “It ferocious sounding, but we’ve developed our own sound with the unorthodox time signatures that make for a more funky metal sound.”

Without a Martyr released a seven-song EP called Pitch Black last May, and offered a free download on the group’s Bandcamp.com page. (Technically, it’s name-your-own-price, and the group would be grateful for any donations, Mr. Ross said). Not content to sit idle, the group is already at work on a full-length album, too.

They recently competed in the Vans Warped Tour Battle of the Bands, and while they didn’t win, Without a Martyr still racked up an impressive amount of votes and listens on the website, Mr. Ross said.

“We weren’t selected, so it was a bummer, but I was shocked at how well we did,” he said. “We had a decently high percentage for buzz rating.”

The band won’t let one small letdown slow it down, however. With gigs lined up locally in August and September, Without a Martyr is still looking for new fans all the time, and Mr. Ross encouraged potential listeners to give their style of rock a try, even if it’s not what they usually like.

“Don’t base a book off its cover,” he said. “We are a hard band, but we have quite a bit of older fans who say they have a real good time. You see them dancing in the back of bars.

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